Hello, everyone! My name is Chaohong Chen. I am from China. Before coming to Japan to study at Doshisha University, I studied at a Chinese university for a while in 2011, however, the syllabus was decided by the school and I didn’t have any choice to learn what I was interested in. Due to this reason, I started thinking to change my university where I can learn freely what I want. At that time, I was reading a masterpiece called zen by a famous philosopher named Nishida Kitaro who is Japanese. What’s more, I like Japanese novels and anime so I decided to study at a Japanese college. 

 I was most committed to working as a part-time teacher in an educational institution for international students during college. I learned from this valuable experience that teaching is very much connected with learning.  People have different cognition in terms of experiencing and learning. Teaching allowed me to adapt to communicating with different people in a very deep manner as the main goal of education is to make sure students understand the taught knowledge. Therefore, adjusting how I interact with different students and not to mention, being organized was the most valuable lesson I got. I became a teacher who can put himself into students’ shoes when educating after the 4-year experience of working in that educational institution. 

What I wish I had done:

I wish I had learned more subjects related to business. When I was majoring in literature and philosophy at university, I read a lot of novels instead of business books. I often blame myself on why I don’t have any knowledge about business because every time I have a problem with accounting, social insurance, and labor, etc, I need to consult experts just because I have no knowledge or experience regarding that matter. My advice for college students is please learn more about things that will be helpful for working in the future, either it is your own business or career. When you are still a college student you have the time to practice and room to fail. Be equipped with as much work skills or you will regret it later on in life.

Self-analysis

1. Please know your personality and what you really want to do!

‘What kind of person am I’, ‘What do I really want to do’. Have you ever asked yourselves these 2 questions and thought about them? First of all, it’s really impossible to get an offer from a company that doesn’t fit yourself. Why? For example, jobs like a consultant, marketing & sales positions need people to talk with many different people. In this case, people who are shy and not good at talking with people will have more challenges from these kinds of jobs. What’s more, people who are outgoing and fond of creative jobs will easily quit their job in the manufacturing industry. The reason for that is that the jobs in the manufacturing industry are more simple than creative. People who like doing new stuff will feel bored easily from the autonomous working culture. What I am saying is, before looking for a job, reflect upon yourself first. ‘What kind of person am I’, ‘What do I really want to do’; these two questions will help you not just get the right job, but will make your career path smoother. 

2. What is your strength?

Truth is, recruiters pay more attention to your strength than your 体育会 experience or English skill. If your strength is good teamwork skills and leadership, an interview or group discussion section will be an opportunity for you to show it. Some industries or companies don’t suit your strength while some don’t. For instance, if you are a maverick, some companies who rely on a teamwork base will not be a right fit, however, companies that need people who are proactive and able to perform well by himself/ herself, you will fit right in. All in all, know your strengths and weaknesses in order to find the job you are perfect for. Rate your strength positively as well as understand your weakness instead of neglecting them. 

Never stop learning new things!

People who don’t study anymore after graduation hardly grow! It’s necessary to have that “never stop learning” mindset. Like I mentioned before, I learned literature at university but as I become a professional, more challenges will occur. Now I am learning HR and accounting to become a better manager. Another example, my friends who are in the real estate industry need to study to get a certification called “Real Estate Transaction Agent” which shows they have expertise. I believe that never stopping studying helps people grow themselves. When you get a high score of TOEIC or a certificate of Bookkeeping, Real Estate Transaction Agent, or any other certification during college, it will reflect upon your quality as an individual and your future will be totally different as people take notice of these assets. Please keep in mind though, even after graduation, as a professional you need to keep studying to compete and adapt to developments.

Be Proactive 

Think about what you need to do and take action proactively. There is no society or company that needs a person that just does what he or she was told blatantly. Know what is the next step of your job and know what you want to do for the team or company as it is highly rated everywhere, especially when it comes to startups or SMEs. Employees in that environment won’t have enough time or money to teach you what you should do step by step. Of course, if it’s a big company, the system will be helpful for people who need step by step training but if you have a job that needs you to keep challenging like working in a startup, be proactive and take action! Innovation comes from your will to take action.

Teamwork skills

Teamwork is very important and it’s really hard for people to have high teamwork skills because there are so many different aspects within teamwork. Expressing your own opinion as much as possible in a group is good teamwork in some companies while reading between the lines and trying to refrain from expressing your own opinions is good teamwork in some companies. All in all, realizing which kind of teamwork is popular, and understanding how you should interact with different kinds of groups will help you when dealing with a business with different clients or companies. Refrain from being self-centered and try to keep an open mind. Not just towards ideas, but also to the group dynamics.